The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #70035

Maria Caterina Ciampi, BA, BSW, MPH Student, Dean's Scholar, International Health, Boston University School of Public Health, 42 High Street, Malden, MA 02148, 617-605-4020, ciampi@bu.edu

In Canada, it is commonly recognized that suicides rate are 4 times higher among the Inuit than in the general population. From 1987 to 1994 alone, the suicide rate among Inuit (Eskimo) in the Northern Quebec region of Nunavik was 6.5 times higher than in the rest of Quebec, and 20 times higher among the 15 to 24 year cohort. A third of Inuit youth in a Nunavik study admitted to having made a suicide attempt in their life, of which 20% resulted in injury, and more than 40% reported past history of suicidal ideation. Evidently, suicidal ideation and attempts also place a significant burden on medical and social services in the North.

In spite of widespread public concern and political will to redress this problem, across the Canadian North, the incidence of suicide continues to rise. Like other professionals who have worked with the Inuit in the Canadian North, I have come to understand tangibly what these figures represent, and have grappled with my colleagues to discern effective ways to counter this epidemic. In this paper, I will describe the impact of suicide on Inuit communities based on my clinical experience as social worker, review the literature to offer possible explanations for the high suicide rate in Nunavik, share my own insights, and propose a community-based transcultural model of post-suicide intervention which I believe may contribute to suicide prevention in the future.

Learning Objectives:

• After attending this session, the participants will:
• • Appreciate the magnitude and severity of the problem of suicide among Inuit (Eskimos) in the Northern Quebec region of Nunavik;
• • Identify risk factors for suicide among the Inuit, as well as protective factors;
• • Recognize acute and chronic mental health problems caused by exposure to suicide; and,
• • Gain awareness of community-based and culturally competent intervention strategies following a suicide.

Keywords: Suicide, International Public Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: N/A.
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Handout (.ppt format, 25908.5 kb)